In the News: US Ranks 17 in Measure of Economic Freedom

This week, the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World: 2013 Annual Report revealed that the U.S. ranks 17th in the world for economic freedom—a steep fall from our 2nd place ranking in 2000. The United States’ long-term trend of declining economic freedom is worrisome. Joshua Hall, associate professor of economics at West Virginia University and one of the report’s authors, explains why to the Daily Caller:

“I think I would view the report as a kind of canary in the coal mine. These are warning signs that we’re becoming over-regulated, we’re spending too much, we’re racking up too much debt. We need to understand that our current economic prosperity was dependent in large part on the government sticking to its core functions.”

This week, the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World: 2013 Annual Report revealed that the U.S. ranks 17th in the world for economic freedom—a steep fall from our 2nd place ranking in 2000. The United States’ long-term trend of declining economic freedom is worrisome. Joshua Hall, associate professor of economics at West Virginia University and one of the report’s authors, explains why to the Daily Caller:

“I think I would view the report as a kind of canary in the coal mine. These are warning signs that we’re becoming over-regulated, we’re spending too much, we’re racking up too much debt. We need to understand that our current economic prosperity was dependent in large part on the government sticking to its core functions.”